Defeat would not come as a surprise to most, but the manner of it could prove telling for Sarri’s future – if they meekly surrender as they did at the Etihad Stadium then Chelsea’s notoriously trigger-happy board might be forced into action.
Victory, however, may just be enough to stave off the looming shadow of proposed successor Zinedine Zidaneand bring a positive end to a difficult week for Chelsea which has seen them hit with a two-window transfer ban.It would also provide the Blues with their first League Cup crown since 2015 and Sarri with the first major trophy of his career, having fallen just short on a few occasions during his time with Napoli.
It is worth noting that Chelsea have had a difficult route to the final too, beating the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham and Bournemouth already, so despite their recent struggles they have very much earned another Wembley appearance and will be desperate to atone for what happened at the Etihad two weeks ago.